After becoming the god of a Familia, Hestia was immediately kicked out by Hephaestus—who, to be fair, had a solid reason.
"You've already established your own Familia, so you can't keep living here with me. As the head of a Familia, you should at least act the part of a god."
Even with tears brimming in her eyes, Hestia had no choice but to leave. She couldn't drag her child along and keep freeloading. The first thing any Familia needed was a proper place to settle. If even that had to be borrowed from someone else, then as a god, she'd be a complete failure.
The key issue was that she couldn't impose on Hephaestus while having her child in tow. If it were just her, she was sure she could have thickened her skin and stuck around. But with her child watching, how could she possibly bring herself to act that shameless?
So Hestia left Hephaestus' shop and went searching for a place her Familia could call home.
But without a single coin to her name, nowhere decent was an option. Money played a vital role in this society. It was essential, inescapable. Without it, they couldn't move forward at all.
That meant the Hestia Familia couldn't afford to look for housing in areas with any kind of cost. They had to turn toward places where money wasn't needed. What came to Bell's mind was that abandoned corner of Orario from the original story—one of the rare ruined places no one ever visited.
"Goddess-sama, is there any place in Orario that doesn't cost money?"
"Hmm… There is one place I know of that doesn't."
Hestia was aware of it—a place that didn't require money—but she also knew no other gods would ever choose it. The problem was, she wasn't exactly in a position to be picky. Financially speaking, she had nothing.
Still, using a place like that as a base for her Familia was just... depressing. She didn't even dare look back at her first child.
"It's just… that place is an abandoned church. It's remote, dark, and might not even have the space for basic living needs."
But Bell didn't seem to mind.
For the Hestia Familia, what mattered most wasn't wealth, power, or status—it was Hestia herself. She was the Familia's greatest asset. Everything else—wealth, power, influence—could be built over time. After all, what god could claim to have achieved financial freedom the moment they descended to the lower world?
Bell shook his head slightly.
"Goddess-sama, please don't worry about any of that. The growth of a Familia doesn't happen overnight. A newly founded Familia isn't going to have loads of money. And really, somewhere remote, dark, and overlooked suits us perfectly right now."
"Hm… Is that how I should think about it?"
"Of course. It's because of me that our Familia has been placed far from the others. It's to keep my parameters from being exposed."
Bell knew that Hestia was a sensitive goddess, so he blamed it all on himself. Thanks to the unique circumstances surrounding him, she could afford to worry a little less.
'Mmm, Bell is trying to spare my feelings.'
Hestia wasn't a total airhead. She understood why Bell was saying these things—to stop her from worrying about how run-down their new home was. But still, as a god being comforted by her own child... that wasn't a good feeling.
"Alright! Bell, I've made up my mind. We'll settle down in that abandoned church for now. Once our Familia saves up enough money, we're definitely getting a bigger house."
"That's the spirit, Goddess-sama."
Seeing Hestia smile again, Bell cheered her on from the side.
"Hehe~"
Even though her child was the one comforting her in many ways, it was the first time she had ever been on the receiving end like this—and Hestia found she liked the feeling.
Pulling herself together, Hestia steadied her emotions and took her child's hand.
"Let's go take a look at the new base of the Hestia Familia."
The ruins of the church really were in an incredibly remote part of Orario—practically the most out-of-the-way area in the whole city. No other Familia would ever choose such a place, and there wasn't a single other Familia nearby. Its level of isolation was unmatched.
Still, aside from the fact that it was in ruins, there wasn't much else wrong with it. If it could be properly rebuilt, it could make a decent base for a Familia.
Unfortunately, the cost of rebuilding this area was outrageously high—far beyond what it would take to simply buy a place. So, this spot was doomed to be just a temporary foothold.
It was Hestia's first time seeing it, and the level of decay was even worse than she'd imagined.
"Whoa, this place is seriously falling apart."
But thinking about how she'd designated such a wreck as the home of the Hestia Familia, Hestia felt like she'd completely lost her dignity as a goddess. She glanced nervously at Bell, worried about what her first child might think.
"Well, it is a ruin, Goddess-sama. You don't need to expect too much. As a temporary shelter, it's actually not that bad. With a little cleanup, the church should be livable."
'I should check out the area a bit later.'
Bell wasn't too concerned about the safety of the place. With only him and Goddess Hestia in the Familia, and as long as his Status weren't compromised, no gods would pay attention to them. Still, a basic inspection was necessary.
But if things went on like this, and he wanted to avoid exposing his situation, he'd eventually need another Familia to provide cover. The best candidate was clearly Loki Familia. As the second most powerful Familia, their strength left no room for dispute.
Of course, that would only be necessary once his personal strength reached a certain level. Without that, there was no need to hide, because no one would care.
Bell understood this very well.
"Goddess-sama, it's getting late. We should find a place to sleep soon."
"Ah, you're right."
Hestia noticed that the sky was darkening. They had to prepare before nightfall. It was hard to imagine there being any lighting equipment in this place, so they'd probably have to rely on firewood or something similar for light tonight.
At that thought, Hestia couldn't help but think, 'Ugh, I should've just kept freeloading at Hephaestus's place.'
But when she looked at the child beside her—her first follower—Hestia shook off that gloom. She used to feel hopeless because she was alone. But now, she wasn't alone anymore. She couldn't let herself spiral.
"Bell, let's figure out where we'll be staying before night falls. Hmm, we'll need to do some cleaning too."
"Goddess-sama, I can handle the cleaning myself..."
"No!"
Hestia cut Bell off firmly. She knew he could do a good job on his own, but as the goddess of the Familia, how could she just stand by and watch her child do all the work? She had to pitch in too.
'I have to reclaim my dignity as a goddess.'
Hestia cut him off again, her expression serious.
"Bell, this is the first task of the Hestia Familia. We may not have enough money to buy the best property, but at the very least, we should clean up our temporary home together."
Seeing her like this, Bell had no choice but to agree.
Hestia pressed on.
"Bell, don't think I'm some useless goddess who can't do anything. I can handle basic chores too, you know. So from now on, you should rely on me more."
"I understand, Goddess-sama."
Bell let out a small sigh but also relaxed a little.